US 12,421,570 B2
Heap leaching
Anthony Owen Filmer, Kangaroo Point (AU); Christopher Alan Biley, Johannesburg (ZA); and Daniel John Alexander, St Albans (GB)
Assigned to ANGLO AMERICAN TECHNICAL & SUSTAINABILITY SERVICE LTD, London (GB); and ANGLO CORPORATE SERVICES SOUTH AFRICA (PTY) LTD., Rosebank (ZA)
Appl. No. 17/926,882
Filed by ANGLO AMERICAN TECHNICAL & SUSTAINABILITY SERVICES LTD, London (GB); and ANGLO CORPORATE SERVICES SOUTH AFRICA (PTY) LTD., Rosebank (ZA)
PCT Filed May 21, 2021, PCT No. PCT/IB2021/054414
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 21, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/234653, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 25, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/028,616, filed on May 22, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0227935 A1, Jul. 20, 2023
Int. Cl. C22B 3/04 (2006.01); C22B 11/00 (2006.01); C22B 15/00 (2006.01)
CPC C22B 3/04 (2013.01) [C22B 11/00 (2013.01); C22B 15/00 (2013.01)] 29 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of preparing and leaching of an ore containing metal values in a heap leach, the method including the steps of:
crushing an ore containing metal values to provide a sand containing metal values with a particle size P80 of less than 5 mm and greater than 1 mm;
classifying the sand to provide a classified sand with a particle size P10 of greater than 0.15 mm, and a particle size P90/P10 ratio of less than 25 and greater than 3;
forming a heap from the classified sand; and
distributing leachant and air through the heap to leach metal values from the sand;
wherein sand heap leaching is the primary recovery method of values from the ore, and more than 50% of the ore is processed by sand heap leach, and wherein the sand is stacked in lifts of height of greater than 5 meters.